


Character Backstories and Ancient History for How To Survive The World

by OutlandishLuminary



Series: How To Survive The World (When It's Trying To Kill You) [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Albino Dave, American History, Ancient History, Angels, Bigotry & Prejudice, Blood, Blood and Injury, Child Abuse, Claws, Crusades, D&D, Drowning, F/M, Family History, French Revolution, Gangs, Genocide, Half-Human, Half-Siblings, Historical, Historical Accuracy, Historical Fantasy, Historical References, Horns, Immortality, Japanese internment camps, M/M, Original Character Death(s), Religion, Sirens, Tails, World War I, World War II, half-cousins, runaways - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-04-30 16:31:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 7,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5171027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OutlandishLuminary/pseuds/OutlandishLuminary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are the backstories for the various characters appearing in HSW. A picture of the character is given at the beginnings of their backstory. Most backstories have a short window into the character's life in the past. All historical events(except the secret government stuff and the Crusades) are actual events that happened and included stuff as described. I have made a family tree, which will be partially shown in the last chapter. Some of it will be removed because spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ancient History to 2005: The Signless & Common Knowledge

Signless- looks like Karkat, or rather the other way around. Black bird wings, tan, black hair, reddish brown eyes. Kind, clever, old, betrayed. Used to be a diplomat for the Empress. Became a revolutionary.

Trolls are demons. Demons were persecuted by humans, who vastly outnumber them, & hunted by Draijosi, so they went into hiding after 40% of the population were slain in the crusades. Teutonic Order captured instead of killing, writing the first ever demonology books. Only history buffs and the old/traditional know about Draijosi. Some demons are integrated into human society, while others choose to hide in the shadows. There is an empress who rules all the demons. She strives to eliminate troublemakers in creatively painful ways. 40% of the global population were slain in the crusades. They went into hiding, everyone hanging back from society for a while. An empress named herself ruler by killing, blackmailing, and intimidating every better potential ruler. 

The Empress is in power partially because Signless negotiated between other demons so they would give loyalty to the Empress. Signless covers for Empress, then Empress thinks Signless betrayed her by talking to humans after she had protected him from everyone else who wanted to kill him. Change of judgement by Signless. Realizes all Empress' action are technically his fault. Goes to check with the other demons from before to find all of them unhappy and one group of Vishni entirely gone except one. They tell him that the empress' men had come in and demanded loyalty with no terms. The villagers had refused and most had been killed, but some escaped(Kanaya's family). Signless goes back to main village to discuss this with the empress. She brushes him off. "They would not accept my terms. I cannot have demons with wavering loyalties." "I could have negotiated new terms!" "What does it matter? It's in the past." "You slaughtered almost an entire class!" The Empress shrugs. "So?" The signless turns from her, disgusted, and walks away. "Signless, come back here this instant. Signless. Signless!" The guards run out to catch him. He starts sprinting and gets himself surrounded, so he dives off a balcony. He gets away. Signless does his thing, working for equality between demon classes and eventually, demons and humans. On the run for 4 months. Captured. The Empress tries to have Disciple killed and has Psiioniic used and Dolarosa sold and killed. Her first act, after this fiasco, was to create a sanctuary for demons in the sea. She created it by enslaving an Ochre(the Psiioniic) to enhance the temperature and light of a specific spot on the sea floor. She had more Ochres build a palace. She keeps the original ochre(psiioniic) trapped in the basement in an air bubble. The Empress imprisoned Signless. She betrays him utterly, reversing his changes and executing dissenters. This second crusade is often glorified as the unification of the demons. 5% of the total population died. She kept everyone in line by doing horrible things to them if they weren't. 44% of the total population stayed in the bubble(60% of remaining population). The town around the palace had an airtight bubble at the waist level to the head level of the demons that lived there. To get away, demons started reintegrating into society, hiding their more inhuman features. 35% of the remaining demons reintegrated(21% of the total population) Every so often, a draijosi would chase these integrators into the woods and hunt them for sport. If a human ever questioned them, they would state that it was the will of god. Draijosi are white bird-winged non-demons. Their habit of hunting demons has seen them theologized into angels. A new draijosi was born every 50 years. They kept openly hunting until 1949, when the draijosi child was hidden in modern society, not kidnapped and raised in a monastery. In 1469, the Signless is kidnapped from the Empress' dungeon and kept captive for his own protection by Redglare, who is then hung by her own courthouse in the French Revolution(1793) during Mindfang's trial. The Signless gets out of the house regularly to go on walks, but Redglare doesn't know that. Mindfang, redglare's husband and their child escape France. The Signless gets away and finds Gamzee, cutting him down. The Signless saves Gamzee again in 1975, and sends him to the other kids in 1984. In 2005, The Signless lures the scientist out to the alley when he sees what is about to happen to Karkat. He almost jumps in to save Karkat, but the scientist helps, so he moves back and watches. Unfortunately, he is grabbed from behind by (someone). They attempt to shoot him in the head and fail, grazing his forehead. The Signless takes off into the air, trailing glowing blood. He quickly lands on a roof and bandages it. After this, he melts once again into the shadows, staying in a tiny abandoned house just outside the suburbs and next to Rose's mansion.


	2. Aradia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So basically, information dump because I've given up on editing. Also, still working on linking pictures in.

Aradia- Born in Oman in 1947. Islamic. 13 at time of seperatist revolt. Grew up. Had boyfriend in 1963(16). He finds her three eyes and is thunderstruck. He calls them beautiful, and her a goddess. In 1965, he sees her goat legs. He runs away, straight into oncoming traffic. He dies. She mourns. In 1973, at the age of 26, she 'stops aging' (ages much slower). In 1975, the Dhofar rebels were defeated. She stays until 1987, when she moves to the US because people start to realize she doesn't age.   
She starts college, and gets an undergrad degree in anthropology in 1992. She goes to grad school and finishes in 1994. She becomes an Archaeologist. She works on a projects until 2005, when someone on her team catches her without gloves on. She quits the project and moves to Boston. She meets someone. They play D&D with his friends. In 2010, Aradia wants to show him her real self. She invites him over for dinner, and dresses as depicted in illustration (which is in a red evening gown). At first, he thinks it's a costume, until her third eye blinks. He shouts and runs. She puts her hands out. "Wait!" He sees the other two eyes and runs faster. She can't follow him out because of how she's dressed. He checks himself into the mental ward.  
She uses her savings to buy a house in Laketown. She writes books on her archaeological findings. She tries to stay isolated from the other residents. She eventually meets other demons(2012) and starts a D&D group with some of them(Vriska & Tavros, 2014) At the beginning of the story, they play their third game together.


	3. Tavros

Tavros was born in 1998 in the underwater demon bubble town. In 2008, he was bullied by Ceruleans because his wings got in the middle of their ball game. They shoved his head under the water and let him struggle before letting him up. He was exiled by the townspeople in 2011 for being a public nuisance, because his wings and horns got in everyone else's way. He wandered the US for a year through the demon underground, getting beaten up and his stuff stolen because of it. In 2012, he was chased and beaten by Scourge of the town to the left(Greenway). He dragged himself up the road to Laketown and collapsed in the tower. Nepeta came in and fixed him up, since she had been using the tower as storage for medicine. Tavros asked if he could stay there. Nepeta told him he could, as long as she could store supplies on the first floor. He agreed. He met Aradia while exploring the forest. He is the first other demon Aradia had ever met.   
Casual meetings and discussions ensue until the beginning of the story.


	4. Sollux

Sollux was born in 1999 to a ochre demon mother and a human father. He was an accident, something his mother thought never should have happened. Sollux's mother was disgusted with him, leaving him out in the cold on a random doorstep. The people who lived in the house turned him in to social services, who hid his horns after determining that they could not be removed. He was fostered by a nice lady until she died of cancer(2006, 7). She taught him to say that he was blind, as well as to always wear a hat and never use his powers in public. In other words, she trained him to fit in.   
When she died, he was shipped off to another home. The family was at a baseball game. The anthem was playing, so the father ripped sollux's hat off. It caught on his horns. The dad investigated, then dragged him out to the bathroom. He yanked on sollux's horns. Sollux(7) yelped. "What (yanks again) are these things?" Yanks. "My horns, th-sir." "Horns, huh? What a nice boy like you doing with" (YANK) "Goddamn HORNS" (YANK) "ON YOUR" (YANK) "HEAD?!?" YANK YANK. Sollux is crying out with each yank. "I don't know th-sir, I don't know, they're just there thir, they're jutht there!" "Then why (Yanks even harder) haven't they been removed?" Sollux is on his knees now. "Can't thir, they're (yelps as yanks again, crying now) they're attached to vital (yanks again, yelps again) vital nerveth and blood vethelth, thir!" "Hmph." He lets go. Sollux collapses. "Well come on then, we don't want to miss the game!" Sollux nods and collects himself, then stands up. They go back and watch the game. The father knew after that that Sollux was a demon, so he locked him up and beat him until the neighbors called social services. The rest of the family did nothing to help him.   
He is given to the couple in Laketown in 2007. He is super careful and they are really clueless, nice people. He starts 2nd grade and meets Rose, Eridan, Dave, Karkat & John. His dad works as a clerk in the local grocery, while his mom is the school secretary. They are both middle-aged. He is closer to Rose, Eridan & Karkat than any of the other kids. They treat him like a real person, even though they think he's blind. Rose and Sollux and Eridan walk to each other's houses frequently.   
Eridan disappears in December 2011, when they are 12. Sollux continues to train his powers after he is beaten by a gang of demons who think he, as a half-blood, shouldn't exist (2013). He goes to the nearest sanctuary, which is Kanaya's. He stays the night, calling his foster parents to say he is staying at a friend's. The next time, he shoots the bullies with his powers, channeling through his eyes. They all get zapped unconscious and he walks home.   
Nothing else interesting happens until the beginning of the story.


	5. Nepeta

Nepeta's family lived in Northern Ireland until the middle of the Troubles(1974). They moved to the Laketown cave systems.   
Nepeta was born in 1988. In 1993, there was a cave-in. They interpreted this as a sign to leave. Nepeta(5) was left on the other side. She is found by a Ch'uan-T'ou who lives in the same apartment building as Kanaya and Dave. She lives with the lady and her son until the lady spots Dave's wings(2003). Both of them move out a week later, leaving Nepeta. In 2002, Nepeta stops growing. She returns to her cave.   
In 2004, she sneaks into a seemingly empty house. She finds food and takes it back with her. She keeps coming back. On the 5th time, the food is out on the counter with a note. She leaves a note in return. The next time she comes, Equius greets her. They make a deal. She will come back regularly with supplies that he requests bought with his money and talk to him, and she will get new clothes and food. They become friends. She realizes that she is the only person Equius ever sees or talks to. In 2012, she meets Tavros in her emergency supply tower. She lets him stay there. Continues per usual until start of story.


	6. Kanaya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The old ones are so fun. Kanaya has her fingers in everybody's lives.

Kanaya was born in 1942 in London. Hers was a prominent black family, their heads held high, originally from Nepal. They inspired the image of Vishnu. They had just moved back from Dublin to London after the Blitz had ended. Kanaya grew up. In 1958, when she was 16, her father was attacked in their garden and beaten (Notting Hill Incident, August). He died the next day. Kanaya and her mother moved to Laketown. In 1962, her mother moved to the underwater village. Kanaya moved into her apartment. In 1963, she stopped growing.   
In 1964, the civil rights act was passed.   
In 1974, she briefly met Dave's grandparents when they moved in next to her. The grandfather beat the grandmother, and later the mother.   
In 1988, she met Derek's father. Derek's mother and father did drugs together (weed and heroin). In 1989, they split after he discovered she was pregnant. Her parents were ashamed, and threw her out of the house. She slept in kanaya's apartment and worked at the dollar store. In 1997, she met Dave's father. He was rich, and he bought a house in the woods and they lived together. Kanaya turned her back room into a sanctuary(appears to glow green to demons). In 1999, Dave's father discovered Derek, who had been living with his grandparents until they died, and left. She drank her sorrows and beat Derek, who moved in with her(She was 27, he was 10). (Continues in Dave's background.)  
After the grandparents died, Kanaya couldn't help either of the children anymore.   
In 2006, a child knocked on her door and frowned. She let him in when he grudgingly admitted his name: Karkat. He explained that he had dislocated his wing, and that he couldn't fix it himself. She asked him to take off his shirt so she could see. He did so, exposing a knife scar on his belly. He watched her the whole time, and seemed prepared to bolt at any second. He stiffly turned around so she could see his wing, which was hanging at a wrong angle. He flinched when she touched him, holding very still. She took hold of his wing and wrenched it back into place. He screamed and collapsed, sat there for a second, gasping, then shoved his shirt back on, thanked her, and ran out the door.  
In 2008, she let in a fish child of 9 years to her sanctuary. He had tried cutting off his finger webbing, but it had regrown. She urged him not to do it again, and led Eridan out the door.  
She went to Dave and Derek's mother's funereal. There were very few people there. Just a couple of her more reformed friends, a few drugees, Derek and Dave. One of the drugees started bothering her. "What chu doin heah? Yoo ain't known her! Yoo too high n mighty to known her." The drugee pushes her. She stumbles and recovers. Derek dives between the two. "What is going on here?" "Whyz she heah?" "She was mother's friend. Now stop bothering her or I will have to remove you. This is a funeral, we don't want any blood, now do we?" The drugee shakes his head and starts crying. "Alright then." He turns to Kanaya. "Derek Strider, nice to meet you, ma'am." "Kanaya Maryam, I used to live next door to your grandparents." "Oh." She nods. "They were very angry at your mother. They always seemed very angry." "They were. At her, at themselves, at me. If they had met Dave, they would have been angry at him too." She nodded, and he went to rescue Dave from one of her reformed friends. She was surprised when Derek and Dave moved back into their grandparent's old apartment. Derek did not remember that it was his grandparents'.   
When Eridan disappeared, she was scared for him.   
Rose knocked on her door while she was doing something else. She put a charm for illusion around her horns(literally a carved stone on a leather cord) and put on a long skirt that covered her second pair of arms. Rose is staring at the door when she opens it. She blinks and looks up. "Hello, my name is Rose. Have you seen Eridan, Ms. Maryam?" "No, Rose, I have not seen Eridan in the past several months. And please, call me Kanaya." "Alright then, Kanaya, have you talked to him recently? Do you have any idea where he might be?" "No, I'm sorry." "What did you do for Eridan, Kanaya?" "I- I helped him through some personal problems, a long while ago. I just check up on him once in a while." "And when was this?" "2008, I think?" "Thank you, you've been very helpful. I'll let you know when we find anything." Rose walks out the door, frustration and confusion evident in her eyes.   
In 2012, Vriska came crashing in after her breakup with Terezi. Kanaya sat her down, gave her tea, and listened to the whole story. Then she left.  
In 2013, Sollux shows up at her door, looking quite battered. She lets him sleep the night after making him dinner and asking his name. He thanks her and goes to school the next day.


	7. Terezi; Or Scourge Sisters, Pt. 1

Terezi was born in 1999 to a powerful demon gang leader, Redglare. She was treated as sort of a princess, and was fascinated with the court system of the gang, the law in unlawfulness and disorder. There was another demon gang in the town, the Spinnerets. In 2007, her mother met with the leader of the Spinnerets, Mindfang. Terezi met Vriska. The two became inseparable, running off to the park to play together. In 2010, their mothers died, and they took over, using fear and authority as tools. Everyone accepted their ascension because no one wanted a gang war. In June 2010, they merged the two gangs to create Scourge. She ran Scourge, the demon gang in Greenway, as half of the Scourge Sisters. The brains of the operation, quiet in group meetings. Left in 2012 when Vriska severely beat a demon who just wandered into their way. Terezi stepped in front of Tavros so that he could flee, and he did so, gratefully. Vriska and Terezi battled until each was battered and bruised. The gang fractured and dissappeared for a while. They both agreed to leave town, on order of the remaining members. They did so, buying houses with their ill begotten wealth.


	8. Vriska; Or Scourge Sisters, Pt. 2

\- Vriska was born in 1998 to Mindfang, leader of the Spinnerets. Mindfang had no time for her, often leaving her to her own devices until she felt she had to teach her a lesson. In these cases, she would show Vriska the inner working of the gang, taking her on raids and to meetings with Glare, the rival demon gang in town. In one of these meetings, she was introduced to Terezi. They hit it off. She became the other half of the Scourge Sisters, in charge of communication and leadership within the gang. After Terezi and she split in 2012, she went to Kanaya. Then she crashed at Gamzee's house until Glare Extremists tried to kill her and Gamzee. They kill the extremists and she leaves to buy her own house.


	9. Equius

His family moved to London after his great grand father failed to execute a demon, and was banished. They were not technically citizens of anywhere, nor were their parents or grandparents. Equius was born in 1893, in London. It was the Victorian era. His family were rich, elitist demons, disgusted by humans and looking down on most other demons. Equius and his brothers spent all their time indoors, attended at all times. They had demon servants, never laying eyes on a human until their house was bombed in the Blitz. In 1901, Equius stops growing(18). After the Blitz, they were smuggled to America(1941). They stayed in New York until their house is invaded by protesters in 1964(Harlem Riot). They moved to Montana, where they didn't have to worry about other people as much.   
Equius made a human friend(September 1989), while out in the woods one day. The human is frightened and Equius freaks out. They come back the next day and see each other, both wide eyed in astonishment. The boy reaches out, calming him. Equius doesn't run. He begins to talk to the boy, and, to his surprise, the boy talks back. His brother saw them meeting again in November. He told the rest and they exiled him for breaking their code. Equius buys one of the first houses in the Laketown Suburbs with his inheritance.   
He later meets Nepeta.  
Nothing else of interest happens.


	10. Gamzee

Gamzee was born in 1682 to a maid to the king and a street performer/cut purse in France. His father was executed in 1700, to the surprise of no one. He was an extremely bad pickpocket who hung out around the castle. It was only a matter of time. In 1708, Gamzee stopped growing. In 1712, Gamzee's mother was caught without her makeup and executed as a witch. Gamzee slipped into the shadows.   
In 1715, a five year old became king. In 1725, Gamzee went back to court as a jester. He became fast friends with Madame De Pompadour, who was also new to the king and seeked to keep him entertained, just as Gamzee did. She died in 1764.   
Gamzee dissappeared, reappearing in 1774. He became friends with the king(1780). Then, the French Revolution happened in 1793. Gamzee, as a firm supporter of the king, was kicked and beaten with belts and stones until his healing factor couldn't keep up. Then he was hanged. The revolutionaries went away. A kind gentleman came by; a mysterious stranger. He cut Gamzee down. Gamzee flop-hugged him. The stranger set Gamzee on the ground and watched over him until most of his injuries had healed. Then the mysterious stranger(with karkat's face) walked away. Gamzee finished healing and fled France, running to England(1793).   
He started painting his face. He heard that his friend had been beheaded, and was thankful that he had not met a similar fate.   
In 1799, he is captured by a demon trader and sold as a slave. He works in an Indigo plantation in Jamaica. In 1839, he is sold to a factory owner, making clothes. The factory burns down(1842). He survives, but the owner is not a fool and picks through the ashes for survivors. He stays there until 1846, when the factory burns down again, killing everyone else, including the owner. He drags himself home and disappears for a while.   
He reappears in 1889. He was drafted in 1917 to fight in World War One. He survives, and no one discovers his face. He gets out in November 1918. He leaves England and goes to Japan. He stays until 1923, when he moved to America after the the Great Kanto earthquake, which destroyed his entire neghborhood. Most of his neighbors die. He helps the live ones out. They see his face, and think nothing but good of it. Their houses are destroyed by the floods and fires.   
In 1924, all Asian immigration to the US was stopped. He was accused of being a communist in 1925 and taken by the SS. In 1927 he was released.   
In 1942, he was taken to an internment camp for his time in Japan. In the six years in between, he is abused by the guards and runs out of paint. He ends up having to smear mud on his face so it won't be visible. In 1946, an old woman tries to wipe off the mud with kind words. She gets a swipe in, just enough to see bone white, before he runs and hides, reapplying it. She finds him later and asks to clean his face, to see his face. "Why would you want that, Omasan?" "Because I am curious." "It would only frighten you." "No. I have heard legends of the Yoi Akuma." Gamzee visibly flinches when she says the word Akuma, which means 'demon' in Japanese. "Shsh, it is alright little one. I will tell no one of your secret. Will you let me see?" Gamzee hesitates, then nods. The old woman cleans his face with a wet cloth. He stays stock still, as if afraid to frighten her off. His paint-like markings shine bone white in the afternoon sun. The old woman gasps. Gamzee moves as if to get up and run. She puts a hand on his arm. He looks at the floor. "Beautiful." He freezes and slowly looks up at her. "You should not need to hide such a lovely face, Akuma." "I am Gamzee. I have lived for 264 years, and this is the first time I have heard that. People have feared me, hated me, used me, but never have I been beautiful." The old woman is crying. Gamzee is crying. She wipes away his tears. "We must be strong now." Gamzee nods. The old woman keeps her promise. He is beaten up by a gang of older boys for not being Japanese(1947). His mud rubs off in the fight and they see his face. They take him to their leader. He recognizes Gamzee as a demon and reports him to the guards for stealing. He is taken before he has time to remuddy his face. The guards are horrified. They take him to the leader. The leader is someone that he knew during WW1. The soldier is confused tries to scrub his skin off and then tortures him for several months until he knows all of Gamzee's story and what he is. He gives Gamzee a fresh supply of paint and lets him go. "Don't want anyone else seeing your ugly mug, now do we?" In 1948, he is released from the camp. He moves to Canada and dissappears until 1974.   
He moves to Hamilton, Ohio. He goes into a house to steal food. He is caught by the Mother, Alma Rupert. She invites him to stay with them. He introduces himself as Michael. On Easter, 1975, the family (7 other siblings) went to visit their grandmother. They had an Easter Egg Hunt. Gamzee played with his new siblings. It was the happiest day of his life. Then they went back inside and played in the living room. Gamzee heard his new uncle walking down the stairs, and froze at the sound of 13 gunshots. His uncle came in and immediately started shooting down his new siblings. Gamzee tried to run and was shot in the knee and the head (Easter Sunday Massacre). A day later, he awoke. His head hurt, and standing next to him was the stranger (with karkat's face) that had helped him during the revolution. He was holding tongs with the bullet that went into Gamzee's head. He took out the other bullet, then helped Gamzee up. He led him out of the morgue and left him in the alley.  
Gamzee melted back into the shadows until 1984, when he was sent a picture of a building. He wandered the country until he found it. In the building, he found an ad for Laketown Suburbs. In 1990, he settled in Laketown, in a newly built suburb. He went to school for the first time. He graduated from Highschool in 1994. In 1998, he was kidnapped by a traveling carnival. They took his face paint, so he had no choice but to stay. He had gained the trust of everyone there in 2007, and snatched his face paint back and ran.   
In 2007, he went back to Laketown. He saw Karkat in 2009, when he moved into the Suburb. Gamzee was confused. It was the same person, but much, much younger. He watched him. He was completely normal.   
Vriska barges into his house in 2012, demanding to have it. He says "This is my house. Get your own." She grumbles and asks if she can stay the night. He complies. Gamzee wakes up with a knife in him. He grunts and tears it out. The assassin flees. He catches them. Vriska is awake. She killed her assassin. Vriska recognizes the assassins as part of a Terezi-supporting extremist group. She knows it's not Terezi's fault. She apologizes. Gamzee kicks her out.   
Nothing else happens until the beginning of the story.


	11. Eridan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost done with the trolls!

Eridan was born in 1999 in the palace. One night(2006), there was a storm, and he was swept to land while out swimming. He was discovered by Rose's mom, who was walking by the beach. She helped him back in the water after asking him a few questions. He swam back to the town, and was promptly banished for giving information to an outsider.

His parents gave him a near fortune in human money. He set up a false name and had a house built on the beach he washed up on. He moved in(January 2007). He gets a card that says his false identity's child has to attend second grade. He goes to school as his false identity's son. He makes friends and always wears scarves and turtlenecks to hide his gills. His hair covers his ears. Eridan wants nothing more than to fit in and make friends. He tries cutting off his finger webbing. He goes to the nearest sanctuary and explains all his problems to Kanaya. The webbing grows back in a month(2008).

In December 2011, in sixth grade, he is out swimming in his cape and shorts and gets hypothermia. He passes out and washes up on Jade's Island. He is the fourth demon she has ever seen. She warms him up and talks to him. He won't tell her anything useful, just his age and that there are different classes of demons. She gives up and straps him down, then dissects him. She takes pictures and scans, then puts everything back where it was and sews him up. She gives him his cape back and locks him up with the other three demons she has captive. The other three came from the sea and were captured in electrified nets. They think Jade's crazy. One by one, the other three die and are replaced. Jade has the voice build hallways full of cages and gives Eridan his own water tank by her desk. She finds him familiar and comforting, and will often talk at him. She doesn't interact with any of the others. In 2012, she almost kills him by messing with his gills. She figures out that something's wrong when Eridan starts gagging and choking. She fixes it. His breathing normalizes. She figures out that his glowing lock of hair is like a peacock's feathers. She figures out that he has both gills and lungs, and that the gills can interfere with the lungs if injured, and via versa. She figures out that his ears don't pop and that he has a swim bladder. She figures out that the gills are extremely sensitive to any outside influence. She figures out that the finger webbing grows back, but the toe webbing does not. She learns that he has a secondary eyelid, like a frog, and that it is thick and inflames the eye if grit gets under it. She learns that Eridan is Nearsighted. Eridan does not approve of any of these discoveries, an unwilling test subject to a mad scientist. Nothing else of interest happens until the story starts.


	12. Feferi

Feferi was born in 1998. She was hidden away shortly thereafter, because as an heir to the throne, she was a threat to the Empress. She lived with a nurse until 2010. She was then built a castle under the sea, where she lives alone with her pet cuttlefish. No one is allowed to visit because it would give away her location. Feferi liked to go swimming, and frequented the area around Jade's Island, avoiding the nets. She did so because it was quite warm there, and she could watch Jade go about her business. She was lonely, in short, and liked to watch any people she came across.


	13. Karkat

Karkat was born in 2000, when he was disowned by his parents and left on the street. He was taken to an orphanage where he was bullied for his wings. They turned him over to the Museum of Natural History. The scientists cared for him until 2005, when they cut the funding for the program. They bundled his wings, gave him a jacket and released him back into the orphanage.

One day, he went into the alley behind the orphanage to fix the air conditioning vent. An older man approached from behind and saw his poorly disguised wings. The man, a demon, tried to mug Karkat. When Karkat couldn't give the man any money, he got mad and started kicking him. When the man saw his blood, he swore at him and pulled a knife. "Slimy cursed mutie! I'm gonna kill you!" He almost does before Karkat is rescued by one of the scientists, Greg. This is how he got the knife scar. He takes him home and cares for him until Karkat runs away in 2006. He doesn't want to be a burden to Greg.  
He made it to the neighboring town and enrolled in second grade. Someone shoves him against the wall somewhere along the way, and his wing dislocates. Grudgingly, he goes to the sanctuary, fully expecting to be denied. Kanaya has him take off his shirt and snaps it back in for him. He nearly blacks out. He puts his shirt back on and runs out the door. He meets Sollux, Dave, John, Rose, and Eridan at school. He lives in the school basement. He knows Rose, Dave, Eridan & Sollux know where he is, but Sollux told him that he made them promise not to turn him in. Karkat is eternally grateful.  
In 2008, his flight feathers come in. He can't fly because there is no one to teach him. In 2009, he moves into a house in the suburbs by 'borrowing' rose's money. He keeps his blood and wings a secret. He lurks in the background with Sollux, discouraging any conversation with swear words and anger. Sollux doesn't care, and neither does Dave. Eridan dissappears in 2011. Karkat looks for him. He gets beaten up because he 'looks funny'. Dave helps him, so none if his blood is spilled until the beginning of the story.


	14. Dave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For more on Dave, see Kanaya.

Dave was born in 1999 in their house. Their mother was drunk at the time, so Bro was the only one who knew about his wings in the house. Bro is actually his half brother on their mother's side. They grew up in the same house. He defended Dave from their mother when she was drunk, often taking a beating himself in the process.   
Bro is 10 years older than him. They lived in Aradia's new house. In 2004, Dave started kindergarten and met John. Dave's flight feathers came in in 2007, the year he started second grade and met Sollux, Karkat and Eridan. Bro was the one who taught him how to fly by watching videos of baby birds. They practiced in the forest. Upon returning from one of these trips, the first time Dave flew(August), their mother was waiting for them. "What were you doin out so late, Derek?" Bro shrugs. "You been out all night, now tell me, _what you been doin_?"She steps closer with every word until Bro can smell the alcohol on her breathe. "Nothing! We went to the forest!" "Din I tell ya to stay in th neighborhood? Din I?" She hits Bro. "Din I?" Hits him again. Dave is cowering behind him, his joy forgotten. "Yes." She kicks him. He grunts. "Yes what?" "Yes ma'am." "Good." She turns to Dave. "Now Davie, can yeh tell me what yeh were doin in th woods all day?" Bro shakes his head and starts to stand up. "I learned how to fly like a bird, mama!" "Now Davie, what did I tell yeh bout making up these pretty lil lies?" She starts taking off her belt. "B-but it's true!" Dave looks confused and afraid as their mother advances, belt in hand. "No, it ain't!" She swings the belt. Bro dives into the way of her swing. "It ain't, it ain't, it ain't!" She swings with the belt at every pause. Bro blocks Dave and takes it. When she goes to swing it again, he catches it and yanks it away, throwing it behind him. She screeches and punches him in the eye. Bro goes down with a cry. Suddenly, their mother comes to her senses and backs up. "Oh, Derek, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry!" She hugs him and cries. "Come here Davie." He comes over and she hugs him too. She falls asleep. Bro picks her up and brings her to the couch. Then he sits down, groaning, head in his hands. Dave gets him an icepack for his back(8, 18). Their mother wakes up and insists on making dinner.   
Bro took care of him after their mom died (2009). Bro DJs at a club in the neighboring town. He taught Dave how to wield swords, thinking that he might need to defend himself because of his wings.   
At the end of 2011, Eridan disappeared. There was a search, but he was never found. People think he went swimming and drowned. Then people just forgot about him.   
Dave has albinism, and as such, his eyes are very sensitive to light. He has the principal's permission to wear sunglasses in class. In 2013, they got a new math teacher. She decided Dave wasn't paying attention, and took his sunglasses. He spent the rest of the class squinting, and got a headache for the rest of the day. He complained to Bro, who complained to the Principal. He had a talk with the math teacher, and told them he couldn't do anything about it. Bro takes matters into his own hands. He storms into her class the next day, takes Dave's sunglasses from her desk, and hands them back to him. She squawks. "Sir, _what_ are you doing in my classroom?" "I'm Derek Strider, Dave's legal guardian, and I have to discuss something with you. "After class." "Fine." Bro waits out in the hallway for class to finish. It finally does. "Now, what did you want to speak about?" "Dave. He can't concentrate if he can't see, and it gives him these awful headaches. You have to let him keep his shades, ma'am" "He's not paying attention, that's why I took them." "Do you want me to show you his notes? He pays attention, ma'am, I've seen it." "Alright, fine. But if he starts goofing off..." Bro flinches involuntarily, then nods. The teacher never takes his shades again. Nothing of interest happens until the story starts.


	15. Rose

Rose was born in 1999. She moved to Laketown with her mother in 2005. She started first grade and met Dave and John. The next year, she met Karkat, Sollux & Eridan. Karkat, Sollux & Rose played video games together. Sollux always won, even though he was blind. Rose decided not to treat him differently because of it. She, Dave, Sollux & Eridan knew where Karkat lived, but Sollux pleaded with them not to turn him in to child services. They agreed to leave him alone. In 2009, her mom left to go study something in a lab in Europe. She left Rose some money, and she has not seen or heard from her since. Rose gave some of it to Karkat to buy a house. Rose became really good friends with Eridan because they're both in the same position with their parents. Eridan disappeared in 2011. Rose visited anyone he'd ever talked to, including Kanaya. Rose organized a search party. She visited his house and found the door locked. On the front step were his shirt and scarf. She kept the scarf. They never found him, and concluded that he drowned. Rose cried for a week. No one else cared that much.


	16. John

John was born in 2000. He is the youngest in the group. John's life is boring. His dad fell in love with his mom. She died in 2000. He had raised him alone ever since. John went to kindergarten and met Dave. He thought he was weird for wearing sunglasses, but he liked to talk to him. The other kids made fun of Dave and loved John. As they grew up, these roles changed. Everyone liked Dave, and you went to John if you wanted to pull a prank. All of John's friends were weird, but he loved them anyways. When Dave came over crying one day in 2007, he comforted him and made him laugh. When Rose came over crying about Eridan in 2011, he tried to cheer her up.


	17. Jade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last one!

Jade was born in 2000. She lived with her grandfather until 2003, when he disappeared while exploring an ancient temple on a nearby island. After that, toddler Jade was raised by a computer system called Bequerel which is literally her entire house. Bec is programmed with her grandfather's voice.  


Bec supplied her with school every day until halfway through 2010, when she was looking through the old books and found a demonology book. She decided that that was what killed her grandfather, and became determined to study them, biologically (and anthropologically to a lesser extent). She sets nets in the sea, and captures her first demon in September, after some modification to the nets. She asks him if he's a demon. He glares at her. She asks if there is a king or queen. He glares at her. Finally, she gives up and straps him down and dissects him. Then she shoves him in a cage. She waits before asking the same questions again. He answers. She, in the next year, captures two more demons. She does basic anatomy tests and dissections. She doesn't have the experience or the resources to get an imaging machine to see organs without actually cutting people open.  


She finds Eridan while walking along the beach in December 2011. He is passed out and has hypothermia. He's floating in the water, bobbing with the waves. She warms him up, questions him, rinse and repeat. The other 3 eventually die off, the first from a reaction to medicine, the second from old age, and the third wedged his head through the top of the cage and hung himself. After that, she put Eridan in the tank(2012).  


She hired bounty hunters in 2012, giving them descriptions. Because of the sheer number they brought in, each class was assigned a number. She asked each one's class name herself, and matched them in her electronic journal of findings. Not many of the demons she brings in die. Right before the beginning of the story, Gamzee is brought in. He warns her of the consequences. She doesn't listen.


End file.
